


An Issue of Blood

by MaurLin



Series: Blood Work [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Blood, Blood and Injury, Drama, F/M, Original Character(s), Suspense, Vampires, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:55:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22302946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaurLin/pseuds/MaurLin
Summary: People are used to Marinette disappearing or running late. But why is she now sick and dizzy?
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Blood Work [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1785706
Comments: 90
Kudos: 260





	1. Where?

**Author's Note:**

> (Most of) the characters belong to ZAG and Thomas Astruc.
> 
> Edit 6/13/20- This story has spawned at least two others, so I am now creating a series for it. The second installment will begin later today.

No one noticed the first time. Not even Marinette.

It had been a brutal akuma fight, and Tikki was sleeping away a cookie recharge in Marinette’s purse as she walked home in the twilit city. It was only a few blocks, after all, and even though she was tired, there was no point in waking Tikki and transforming just for that.

She thought she heard a whisper in the alley. She turned to look…

But then Marinette shook her head. She must be more tired than she thought; there was nothing there. She rubbed a small bruise on the inside of her right elbow as she continued to walk home. Really, she should probably just go straight to bed.

And no one noticed that a ten minute walk had taken almost an hour…

The second time, a few days later, there were questions.

_ “Girl, what happened? You were supposed to call me an hour ago!” _

“An hour ago? What time is it??! I’m so sorry, Alya- I guess I got caught up in something; I just got home!” This was true- another akuma attack- but Marinette hadn’t thought it had taken  _ that  _ long.

A huff from the other end of the phone.  _ “You had your phone with you, right? Just a text to say you’d be late to our evening skull session? This quiz drill won’t wait!” _

“Actually, I left it charging this morning. I’m really sorry, Alya…”

Alya squinted at Marinette from the other side of the video chat.  _ “Are you okay? You look kind of pale.” _

“I’m fine.”

_ “Uh-huh.” _

”Really, I am. I’m just,” Marinette yawned. “Tired.”

_ “Fine; we’ll keep it short. Get some sleep, though- you look like you need it.” _

“Thanks, Alya. You’re the best,” Marinette smiled.

She fell asleep halfway through the drill.

The next time, a bare two days after that, people were frantic.

Marinette was with a large group of her friends just a few minutes before in the warm evening, waiting to buy treats at a vendor’s pushcart near the bridge. Alya looked back over Nino’s shoulder to where Marinette had been standing.

“Hey, did anyone see where Marinette went?”

No one had- but her purse was lying on the ground near where she had been. Alya and the rest of the group split up to try and find her, but it was no good- the friends regrouped by the vendor cart a half-hour later without finding so much as a trace of her.

Alya was seriously starting to freak out now; Marinette’s other friends weren’t far behind. Trying to keep her cool, Alya suggested, “She’s been tired lately. Let’s call her house- maybe she wasn’t feeling well and went home.”

“Who?” came a voice from behind the crowd.

“Marinette?!? Where have you  _ been?? _ We’ve all been worried sick!” Alya pushed between Juleka and Rose to give her best friend a fierce hug and a firm shake for the scare she had given them.

Or she would have, if Marinette hadn’t fainted on her shoulder.

Marinette came around pretty quickly, seated on a bench with her head between her knees. Alya had one hand on her back, and the other on the phone with Sabine. Rose stood nearby, holding Marinette’s purse and gazing at her with wide, frightened eyes. Most of the others had similar expressions; as Marinette raised her head to look at the crowd of friends, she could see their concern.

“Alya? What-“ she began.

Alya cut off her timid question. “Girl, if you’re so sick you wander off, and then you FAINT on us when you find your way back, you’re clearly in no shape to be out here.”

Marinette couldn’t argue with that, although she didn’t remember actually wandering off. How long had she been gone? She had no sense of any time passing between waiting for her turn at the vendor, and hearing Alya’s plans to call her house.

Alya laid a hand on Marinette’s forehead. “No fever- if anything, you feel cold. Hey, Ivan-“ she turned to the tall boy next to Mylene. “Can you carry Marinette home?”

“What? No- I’ll walk; I’ll be fine!” Marinette shot to her feet, but was overcome with a wave of dizziness and sat right back down on the bench. “In a minute…”

“Better idea,” said Juleka as she pointed to a police cruiser passing by the area. She flagged down the car and explained what they needed to the officer. Marinette still didn’t like it, but her friends were adamant- either ride home, or be carried.

For her dignity’s sake, she chose the ride. Alya went with her, leaving Nino and the others behind. As the police cruiser pulled away from the curb, Alya glanced at Marinette.

“Where were you, girl?”

“I-“ Marinette swallowed, her throat dry. “I don’t remember…” Her head felt too heavy to hold up; she put it down on Alya’s shoulder. Thinking was becoming a trial. She passed out of awareness again…

…And woke up, this time in a hospital bed in the emergency room. She looked around; an IV was running into her left arm. Two bags hung on the stand at the other end. There was a red one feeding into Marinette; a clear one was obviously going to be next. Her parents were standing by the bed, Tom holding Sabine gently as she trembled.

“Mom?” Marinette could hardly croak out the word against the dryness in her throat.

“Oh, Marinette!” Her mother came to her side, gulping back a sob. She put a warm hand against Marinette’s cheek. “What happened, sweetie?”

Marinette tried to say something, but her throat felt like it was glued shut. She coughed. “Thirsty…” she whispered. Although her head felt clearer than it had all night, she still felt too exhausted to move.

Tom left to get the nurse, who brought a cup of ice chips for Marinette. The cold wetness of the chips soothed the dryness in her throat, enough to talk, enough to tell her parents that she didn’t remember what happened.

Strangely, she wasn’t scared.  _ Maybe I’m too tired to be scared _ , she thought.

A doctor came and stood by Marinette’s bed. “If you had any other symptoms, I would suspect you of bleeding internally, young lady,” he began. “As it is, you’re severely anemic and dehydrated. The transfusion and the saline will get your blood volume back up to where it should be; you’re going home when they’re done, but you should stay home from school from a few days to a week- whenever you stop being dizzy.” He gave her a stern glare. “And if you pass out again- you come right back here.”

Marinette privately vowed to make that stay at home as short as she could get away with. Adrien was still at school, after all; while she didn’t want him to see her at her weakest, she was determined to get back to class as soon as possible.

Although the thought of Adrien usually made her heart beat a little faster, this time it didn’t.

_ Wow, _ she thought, as she rubbed the bruise on the inside of her right elbow.  _ I really  _ **_must_ ** _ be sick. _


	2. Who?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who has been harming Marinette? And who has come to help?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Most of) the characters belong to ZAG and Thomas Astruc.
> 
> Warning: potentially disturbing bloodletting ahead.

A few hours later, she was curled up in her loft bed at home, with juice, water, soup and iron supplements within arm’s reach. Marinette talked with Tikki.

“Tikki, why can’t I remember what happened?”

The kwami looked at her sympathetically. “I don’t know, Marinette. Maybe you should see Master Fu about it.”

“You’re right. I should go see him- or I’ll call him tomorrow. Right now,” Marinette yawned, “I’m too tired to explain.” She closed her eyes, and didn’t open them again for nearly fifteen hours.

Somehow, when she woke, she forgot to call.

That evening, Marinette was sitting up in bed, trying to catch up on her homework. She was still tired, but the math was done, and the literature assignment too. After nodding off over the same history paragraph three times, she decided not to fight it, and slid down in the bed for a nap. Tikki flew over to curl up next to Marinette’s head on her pillow.

Which is why she woke up when Marinette suddenly sat up in bed.

“Mmph- Marinette?” the kwami asked sleepily. “You should go back to sleep…”

Marinette ignored her, which made Tikki come all the way awake. Instead, Marinette muttered, almost to herself. “I’m coming out…”

She reached up to the trapdoor leading to the balcony, and climbed out slowly. Tikki followed to the opening, and stopped when she heard a voice other than Marinette’s on the balcony.

_ “Doamna mea, _ you came out to my call. Good.” The voice was a melodious baritone; Tikki wondered how the owner had gotten to the balcony in the first place. With that accent, it was no one Marinette knew...and though Tikki had heard the accent before, she couldn’t quite place it.

At least, not before the voice spoke again- and what it said was far more important, to Tikki’s mind. ”You are becoming more mine with every hour we spend together. Three more times at most, and you will forever be mine alone.”

Tikki decided a look was worth the risk. She eased over the edge of the roof hatch, to see a young man maybe a couple of years older than Marinette, darkly handsome. He was holding Marinette in a close embrace that Tikki was sure she wouldn’t have tolerated had she been in her right mind- but Marinette slumped slightly in the tight grip. Tikki could see Marinette’s eyes; they were wide and dark, the pupils dilated until they appeared black.

The young man was stroking Marinette’s neck, having pulled out the bands holding her pigtails in place. ”You must always wear your hair down for me.”

”Yes,” breathed Marinette. ”I will.”

”Such a good girl.” The young man picked Marinette up easily and carried her over to the sling chair, where she lay completely limp, only turning her head to follow the stranger. ”Now, it is time for you to give me what I need.” He knelt at Marinette’s side, running a finger down her cheek.

”Give me your arm,” he instructed. Marinette lifted her right arm up, turning it so the inside of her elbow was face up. The stranger ran his fingernail over the bruise on Marinette’s skin; blood welled up, and the young man fastened his lips over the red stain before a single drop could escape. Marinette gasped slightly, and seemed to have trouble breathing as the man sucked at the wound.

Tikki dropped back into the bedroom in horror. Now she recognized the accent, and what the man on the balcony was. Marinette was in horrible danger- Tikki had to get her to Master Fu as soon as possible!

But until the man- the  _ vampir _ \- left, Tikki could do nothing. The creature had magic, just like her. He would not hesitate to harm Tikki if he could, and he would definitely kill Marinette if he thought Tikki would tell anyone about him. There was a slim chance- he spoke of three more visits; that meant he did not want to kill Marinette tonight- if Tikki could get Marinette to transform before she woke completely from the  _ vampir _ ’s control tonight, maybe she would have the extra strength she needed to get to Master Fu.

Tikki listened as the  _ vampir _ finished- feeding- on Marinette’s lifeblood for now. From one of her past owners, she knew that the creature would seal the skin where he had fed, leaving only a small round bruise as evidence. ”So, you have been to the healers; your blood is stronger and has a new flavor in it.” Tikki peeked above the edge again, and saw the  _ vampir _ kiss the feeding spot. ”You must not go back there. You must be mine, entirely.”

”I won’t go back...” Marinette said softly. Her face was even more pale than it had been.

He chuckled. ”Very good, obedient one.” He took Marinette’s face in his hands, and stared into her eyes. ”The next time we meet, you must be beautiful, my lady. You will wear a dress, and be ready to come when I call.” He then kissed Marinette on the lips and the neck, straightened up and leaped an impossible distance towards the park.

Tikki flew out of hiding; Marinette was still in the trance the  _ vampir _ had put on her. ”Marinette, you must transform! Now!”

”Transform?” Marinette said, dazed.

”Yes! Transform and go to Master Fu!” Tikki thought Marinette was just under enough for this to work. ”Say ’spots on!”

For a second, Tikki was afraid Marinette wouldn’t do it. But then,”Spots on,” passed Marinette’s lips. Tikki dived into the miraculous, hoping against hope that Marinette’s entranced self could follow the rest of her instructions.

Master Fu was sound asleep when there was a knock on the window of his apartment. He and Wayzz could sense the ladybug miraculous outside, but the energies were weak and skewed. He opened the window quickly-

-And barely caught Ladybug as she fell into the apartment, unconscious.

Adrien sat in Master Fu’s apartment; Wayzz had come before dawn to tell him and Plagg that something terrible had happened to Ladybug, and they needed to come right away. Ladybug herself was behind a screen, detransformed and asleep, lying on a pallet on the floor. Just in case she woke up, Master Fu had instructed Adrien to only answer to his superhero name.

”What could have happened to her?” he asked Plagg, glancing worriedly at the screen. His kwami shrugged.

Master Fu entered with four cups of tea on a tray, as well as a variety of people and kwami food. He set the tray down on a low table near Adrien, and took one cup behind the screen to Ladybug; Adrien could hear him wake her long enough to drink it. Plagg grabbed a piece of cheese from the tray and started munching.

”You could have waited,” Adrien muttered to his kwami.

Plagg was unrepentant. ”If something happened to hurt Ladybug enough to call us here, we’re going to need all the energy we can get. Want some?”

”No, thanks.”

Tikki, Ladybug’s kwami, flew around the screen and joined them at the low table, followed by Master Fu. The master handed Tikki a sweet bun, which she ignored, staring at the table with downcast eyes. Master Fu chided her gently. ”You need the energy too, Tikki. Ladybug will need every bit of strength you can give her before this is over.”

”What’s happening, Master Fu? What’s wrong with Ladybug?” Adrien asked as he was handed a pastry and a cup of tea.

”Ladybug- her civilian self- has been hurt by an evil I have not seen in many years, and it will kill her unless we destroy it first.” Master Fu closed his eyes. The tea sloshed in Adrien’s hand, he set it and the pastry down and tried to control the trembling. ”You are the only one who can complete this task, although Ladybug herself must play a critical role.”

”An evil? Not an akuma?” Adrien swallowed hard, trying to process what the Guardian was saying. He’d always known that Ladybug was the important one, not him, when it came to akumas. But this...

Master Fu raised an eyebrow. ”There are many evils in the world, and the miraculous all exist to fight them. Even the butterfly miraculous was intended for good; Hawkmoth may have bent Nooroo to his will, but that does not make the miraculous evil. This, however,” he sipped from his cup, ”this is an ancient type of evil- not because of what it is, but because of what it chooses to do.”

”I don’t understand. What kind of evil?”

”What do you know of vampires, Cat Noir?”

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Adrien was grateful for that, as he hated to admit he didn’t know much about vampires outside of a few movies and anime. He had the feeling those weren’t the best sources of information.

Master Fu let a tall man in his twenties into the apartment. The newcomer had dark brown hair and eyes, and moved with a quiet grace. He wore a long-sleeved thrift-store T-shirt, faded jeans, sunglasses pushed up on his head, and hiking boots, and he was carrying a backpack and an umbrella.

”This is Nikolai, Cat Noir.” Adrien stiffened at being addressed as his other half in front of a newcomer. It wasn’t as if his face was unknown in the city; anyone with half an eye who knew he was Cat Noir would see the posters of the famous Agreste model and put the two together. ”You need not worry for your identity; Nikolai lives south of here, near Orleans. He has had a farm there for a long time, and has little interest in most of what happens in Paris. I called him in as a specialist in vampires.”

”Indeed,” said the man. He smiled and nodded at Adrien in a friendly way, but remained serious. ”It is a subject I know a great deal about.”

There was something Adrien was missing here. ”Why would you know about vampires? Sir?”

Nikolai’s smile got slightly wider, showing his mouthful of sharply pointed teeth. ”Because I am one, Cat Noir.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I've said in a couple of comments, my version of vampires is a bit different. It'll come up in the next chapter; basically, it isn't what a person IS that makes them evil, but what they DO.
> 
> At some point, I hope to explore this AU a bit further; there is a half-written follow-up to this fic sitting in my document file (along with a couple of other finished ones and around a dozen prompts; thanks to Taitai83 for the plotbunny they released that's currently running me over. Now if it would JUST. STOP. BREEDING...). 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you are still enjoying this! Please comment below!


	3. How?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is learning about the threat to Ladybug. Is he strong enough to do what's needed?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters belong to ZAG and Thomas Astruc. (Except for mine- you know who you are.)

The first thing Nikolai wanted to do was inspect Ladybug and see how badly off she was; Tikki went behind the screen with him. Adrien turned to Master Fu. ”If a vampire hurt Ladybug, how can we trust another one?”

Master Fu was unfazed. ”There are only a few thousand vampires in the world these days; most, in order to survive, have given up the evil practices of the past and found other ways to meet their unique needs. Nikolai is like that, but we appear to have one who prefers the worst of the old methods on our hands.” He sipped his tea. ”Much of what the world thinks of vampires is wrong, anyway, although some legends have a bit of truth to them.”

Nikolai came back around the screen. ”That’s true. Those of us who have embraced modern ways stay connected through the Internet, so we keep up on advances that benefit us. For instance, we found out a while ago that the practice of drinking human blood exclusively and to excess actually harmed a vampire more than it helped.” He shrugged. ”We do need a few ounces of blood a day, and regular food- but animal blood works just fine for everyday use, which is why I keep a herd of cattle and goats.” He winked at Adrien. ”The organic cheese income doesn’t hurt, either.”

Plagg, who had been snoring in the corner, perked up at the mention of ’cheese’.

Nikolai continued. ”We can’t skip human blood entirely- we need a dose of it about once a month- but we get it from blood banks. Since blood-borne illnesses don’t matter to us, they can give us the blood that tests positive for diseases, that they don’t dare use on patients. Plus, we’ve found that by not feeding from humans every day, we aren’t prone to the crippling weaknesses that our ancestors had. It’s a win-win.”

He sobered. ”There are those who don’t believe our findings, and still drink blood from humans in the old way every day- but they have whole villages of people they take care of, like I care for my animals, and they only take the minimum they need. The villagers know this, and treat the vampire like a protector, and those vampires get along, although they give up the benefits of a mostly-animal blood lifestyle.” Now Nikolai looked angry. ”But once in a while- you get one who cannot or will not control his appetites. That is what you have here. Your young lady would be dead today if she hadn’t had a transfusion this week.”

Adrien shuddered. Ladybug had been so close to death- and he hadn’t known.

Nikolai brought out a laptop. ”I did a search for unexplained deaths by exsanguination in Europe while I was on the train, to try to figure out where our rogue comes from. There have been ten reported in the last three months, although there may be more- all in major cities, and all females between the ages of twelve and sixteen. And by the times- in a rough line from somewhere in Romania.” He grimaced. ”It’s a horror novel cliche, of course- that our rogue comes from Transylvania- but that  is where a few of the more old-school vampires live. They’re usually pretty good about policing their own, though.”

There was a small noise from behind the screen. ”Master Fu?”

Ladybug was awake. Master Fu and Nikolai went to the other side of the screen; Adrien sat as close to the screen as he could. He could see Ladybug’s left hand through the small opening at the bottom; she must have let her arm fall off the pallet. He couldn’t help it- he reached through the opening and held Ladybug’s hand; it felt cold and fragile in his grip.

Master Fu introduced Nikolai to Ladybug. ”We must ask you some questions, to determine a course of action. Do you know what has happened to you?”

Ladybug took a moment to answer- as if she were forcing herself to speak. ”Yes. I didn’t remember before- I don’t think Varujan wanted me to- but when I transformed last night, it all came back to me. E-Everything he did to me...” Her hand shook in Adrien’s.

”I know this is difficult for you, Ladybug- but the more answers we have, the more we can help you.” Nikolai’s voice was gentle, but Adrien could hear the determination behind it. ”How many times has he fed from you, and how often?”

”F-Four times in the last week. The first time- was after the Skymaster fight, seven days ago. Then again three days later, then two days after that, then the following night- last night.” She took a shaky breath. ”Varujan always comes for me in the evening...”

Nikolai sounded grim. ”If he’s feeding his gluttony on humans, that’s the earliest time of the day that he  can appear- he’ll be dormant from sunup to sundown.” He blew out a breath. ”And he’s decreasing the intervals between feedings, not giving you time to recover. He must only be waiting to cement his control of you.”

”Control?” Adrien blurted out the question.

Nikolai answered. ”All vampires have a mind-control ability; I use mine to keep my animals calm when the vet comes around. Rogues who don’t kill their victim immediately are usually holding back because they want complete control of their prey- body  _ and _ mind. It gives them a high like a drug, just like overdosing on human blood does.”

”It feels like- whatever V-Varujan wants, is what  _ I _ want. Somewhere, I know it’s not me, but I can’t tell that his thoughts, his –pleasures- aren’t mine, when he is with me.” Ladybug’s hand was shaking violently now; her voice was trembling. ”I know now- and it’s sick- but he still has a hold on me; he’s going to call me tonight. And I’ll go; I can’t s-stop myself...” She sobbed once; Adrien kept his grip tight on her hand, wishing he could hold her.

Master Fu spoke calmly to her. ”We know you will have to go. And if we can plan this right, it will be the last time he harms anyone. But your help will be required.”

Adrien could hear Ladybug swallow hard. ”I can’t stop him from f-feeding again...”

”Actually, we need him to. But only for a minute, and only while you are transformed.” Nikolai paused. ”Can you do this?”

Ladybug didn’t answer for what seemed like forever. ”Yes. I can.”

”Good. Get some more sleep now, if you can- we’ll wake you just before sundown to transform, then I will take you wherever he calls you.” Nikolai sounded very certain.

Adrien didn’t like it, but he didn’t have a good reason why. He heard Ladybug’s breathing slow, and her hand relaxed as she fell asleep again. He put her hand down as the two men came back around the screen.

”Let us plan our course of action, gentlemen,” said Master Fu. Adrien sat across from Nikolai, determined to be a part of this.

Nikolai gave Adrien a sober look. ”You and your powers are the key to this. Vampires have a long oral tradition; one of the oldest legends says,’to touch a ladybug is death; the touch of a black cat is death.’ And it is true that we can’t be killed easily; it usually requires a lot of energy of one sort or another. Direct sunlight works too, at least on rogues, but that’s too slow and we have no idea where he is. The best ways are fire- or your Cataclysm.”

Adrien nodded slowly. ”The touch of a Black Cat. I get it.” He shivered. ”But I don’t want to kill anyone...”

Nikolai patted his shoulder awkwardly. ”I understand. You haven’t had to destroy anything or anyone permanently yet; however, if any more ancient evils turn up, this will not be the last time you will have to.” He shifted a little. ”This creature- Varujan- has killed nearly a dozen girls already, he will kill Ladybug if we don’t stop him, and he will never stop killing. Not to mention taking over the minds of his victims, until they cannot think for themselves, making them his mental slaves.”

”But can’t we just- I don’t know, lock him up somewhere? I don’t think I can do this...” Adrien wanted to hear that this was an option, that they could imprison Varujan instead of...

But Nikolai shook his head. ”That isn’t a solution. First, his control over Ladybug is such that he can call her to help him at any time as long as he remains alive- she wouldn’t even be aware of what she was doing, she would not be able to stop herself. Second, we vampires are quite strong and fast; there isn’t a prison built, magic or not, that can hold us for long.” He regarded Adrien sadly. ”I’m sorry we have to do this to you- make you grow into a task an adult would find nearly impossible, and quickly. But it’s the only way to save Ladybug and all those people Varujan would kill if we did nothing- and you’re the Black Cat. You  can do this.”

Adrien sat with his knees tucked under his chin, arms wrapped around his legs.  _ Could _ he do this?

He closed his eyes, thinking of all the girls he knew at school- Marinette and Alya, Chloe and Sabrina, Alix and Mylene, Rose and Juleka- even Lila. He thought of all of them dying by inches, sick and dizzy, and (due to the mind control) not knowing why. A slow anger started to build in him; it steadied his hands and solidified his determination.

He looked up at Nikolai. ”What’s the plan?”

Master Fu and Nikolai had worked out a tentative plan over lunch; they couldn’t plan anything more concrete until they knew where they were going. Adrien ate only because he knew he needed to; the food was as dry as paper in his mouth.

Part of the plan was for Adrien and Ladybug to alter their uniforms. Master Fu said that, unlike the potion-shifts for extreme environments, this was a just a matter of intense concentration; if Adrien transformed while thinking of the changes he needed to his costume, they would happen. After Nikolai gave him some idea of the kinds of changes he would need, he practiced.

The new uniform had a antique-silver collar, the same shape as the old one, to prevent the vampire from simply tearing his throat out. Dark silver arm and shin guards were also added. And the final touch- an adjustment to his staff, a wooden spike that came out of one end at the touch of a button, and could be broken off once embedded in a target. The other end was a point of sharpened silver, turning the staff into an effective spear.

”The human-only vampires are vulnerable to wood and silver, though I can handle both,” Nikolai said. ”The benefits of a healthy lifestyle...Anyway, wood will immobilize a vampire if they are stabbed with it, and any vulnerable spot in the chest or gut will work; it doesn’t have to be the heart. But as soon as the wood is removed, they come back just as strong fairly quickly. Silver burns the skin and flesh, so he will not want to grab any part of you with the magic silver armor- and if you stab him with the spear, it won’t heal.”

It took Adrien and Plagg three attempts to keep all the changes in mind and get it right, but the third time was perfect. They tried it twice more, to make sure the changes were set. All that was left to do was wait.

”Cat Noir? Are you there?” Ladybug was awake again. She was still lying down, conserving what little energy she had for the evening.

Adrien reached through the opening beneath the screen to hold her hand again. ”Yes, milady. I’m here.”

Her hand trembled; so did her voice. ”P-Please- don’t call me that. At least, not right now; Varujan calls me that too, only h-he  _ means _ it.”

”Huh? What do you mean?”

Ladybug sounded like she was thinking out loud. ”When you say it, you mean it like a knight addressing a noble lady- it’s more like a title of respect, even when you’re flirting. When V-Varujan says it,” she tightened her grip, which still wasn’t that strong, ”h-he means it like- like I’m his property.” Adrien heard her fumble for the cup of tea beside her pallet and take a swallow of it. He knew Master Fu had put some kind of strengthening agent in her tea, so she could deal with the lack of blood cells.

Adrien felt guilty for not being able to help her before. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand, trying to comfort her a little. ”I wish I could have been there for you, m-LB.”

She breathed a small puff of a laugh. ”It’s just as well you weren’t. When I transformed under trance, and I remembered- e-everything,” her voice shook a little on that last word, ”I- I threw up. I’ll have to replace my potted plants...”

Adrien gave her hand a small shake. ”Hey, just tell me what you want; I’ll find them for you.” Then he got serious. ”You know what we have to do?”

Ladybug squeezed his hand once. ”I know. And I’m sorry. I wouldn’t want to burden you with things like this, ever.”

Adrien gave her hand a squeeze back. ”And I never want you to be hurt. We’ll fix this.”

He heard Ladybug take a shuddering breath behind the screen. ”...I’m scared, kitty...”

”I know.” He paused. ”Me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo...Adrien needed more information, and we got it.
> 
> A side note: I really do think that the miraculous are not intended to be one-sided, with Ladybug holding all the cards. (I honestly expected Cat Noir to be the one to purify Mayura's feathers; he's the perfect one to hunt them down due to his allergy, and it wouldn't be like he was destroying a living thing like a butterfly...) Anyway, part of the reason I wrote this was to show that he had his own heroic acts that Ladybug could only assist with. Sauce for the goose, and all that.
> 
> My vampires are still different, and will remain so. in future, I could continue in this AU, with various other beings and creatures coming into play. The followup with Nikolai is still in development; we'll see it eventually.
> 
> Hope you're still with me on this! I finally figured out the chapter breaks, so there will be five. Comments and kudos are my lifeblood! (I'm a pretty poor vampire meal..:)


	4. What?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug is called, and Cat Noir follows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (most of) The characters belong to ZAG and Thomas Astruc.

It was fifteen minutes to sunset, and Adrien had already transformed. They didn’t know when Ladybug would be called, but Nikolai thought it would be soon after nightfall. It was time for her to wake up and transform, herself.

Nikolai was trying to distract Cat Noir from his nerves. ”The reason you can safely- well, relatively safely- deal with vampires while you’re transformed is easy. As Cat Noir, you take on some of the characteristics of your animal, yes?” He smiled at Cat Noir’s nod. ”The one creature no vampire can control is a cat- something about them prevents their being mind-controlled. I can’t tell you how many scratches I’ve gotten off the barn cats on the farm.”

This made Cat Noir laugh, though it sounded forced. He was still trying to focus.

”You’re silent, and can walk on all fours, which means you can sneak in through the roof and watch from above. I’m going to try to find another entrance on ground level.” Nikolai, who was coming as much to back Cat Noir up as to carry Ladybug, had changed into a dark gray hoodie and pants, and had slung his backpack over his shoulders.

Cat Noir nodded, not paying too much attention. Behind him he heard Ladybug beginning her transformation. ”Spots on!”

A pink light reflected off the walls, and Master Fu said, ”You can turn around now, Cat Noir.”

He did- and was astounded.

Ladybug’s costume change was drastically different from his. She was wearing a strapless, ankle-length gown in her signature red with tiny glittering black spots. She had gloves that ended below the elbow, and boot-like shoes with a slight heel. Her hair was loose and hanging down her back, and her mask was replaced by what looked like fanciful red and black face paint in a feathery dotted pattern, barely surrounding her eyes. She was- stunning.

She looked at Cat Noir, and her red lips trembled into something that was not quite a smile. ” He told me what he wanted me to wear for his next- feeding. This is as close as I dare get; if I don’t follow his instructions, he’ll either run, or kill me and then run.”

Cat Noir nodded, still stunned a bit.

”I hate this- I hate being-vulnerable...” Ladybug shuddered. Her eyes were glassy with tears she didn’t shed.

Cat Noir’s heart went out to her. He laid a hand on her shoulder, trying for a bit of comfort. ”I know you have the hard part- allowing this to happen, instead of trying to run. But you’re the bravest person I know, Ladybug. You can do this- you won’t let this guy prey on anyone else, no matter what.” He gave her his best encouraging smile. ”And neither will I.”

She smiled back, with a little more hope in her eyes.

Nikolai took Cat Noir by the arm and walked him a little way away. ”This- could complicate matters,” he muttered grimly. ”So far, he has only used the vein in her arm to feed- it’s relatively small, which means he can only take relatively little at a time. But if he feels that she is entirely his- or he feels threatened-he’ll go for the vein in the neck, and he’ll drain Ladybug quickly if he uses that.” He turned to face the window. ”If he does that- we can’t wait the full minute we need him to feed before attacking; Ladybug won’t survive if we do. We’ll have to attack after fifteen seconds at most, and the advantages of having him feed longer will be gone.”

Cat Noir furrowed his brow. ”Advantage? Of letting that-” he paused; he couldn’t call the evil vampire anything that wouldn’t insult Nikolai as well, ”- feed on her?”

”Yes. It’s necessary; I’ll explain after we survive this.” Nikolai had gone back to watching Ladybug, who seemed to have lost all interest in the conversation. She stood in the room with her eyes closed, just breathing slowly.

It seemed like an eternity to Cat Noir, but the clock had only showed twenty minutes passing when Ladybug’s head snapped up, as if pulled by a string. Her eyes opened wide, and Cat Noir saw that her pupils were dilated; he could barely see any blue. ”I will come...” she said softly, and began to head for the door.

Nikolai moved swiftly across the room and picked her up, cradling her in his arms. He headed to the window and outside; Cat Noir followed.

Nikolai was as good a roof-runner as Cat Noir was; he took his direction from Ladybug, asking her where to go. Ladybug could only point, but that was enough. The path led to an empty building; the exterior was brick, metal and glass, at least two stories tall. It looked like an old warehouse of sorts. Cat Noir and Nikolai dropped from the roofs to the corner of the building.

Ladybug was twitching; Nikolai set her down and she began to walk slowly toward a door halfway down the face of the building. Cat Noir pole-vaulted to an upper-story window that was half- open. He slid inside and found himself on a balcony overlooking the ground floor; he swept his kitty-vision across the balcony in case the evil vampire was there.

_ Nothing up here. _ Cat Noir eased into the shadows and turned his attention to the ground floor. The room was lit mostly by moonlight and streetlights shining in the windows, but there was at least one lamp. Cat Noir could see Ladybug just walking in; she came to the center of the room and stopped, swaying slightly.

A low voice came from the shadows to the right of her. ”You are here,  _ doamna mea.  _ You came all the way to me this time.” The vampire stalked out of the stacks of cardboard boxes piled to one side, toward the girl in red. ”And wearing my favorite color.”

The vampire- Varujan- circled Ladybug slowly as she stood still, staring straight ahead. He paused to brush her hair away from her neck; Cat Noir tensed, but all he did was lean in and inhale deeply through his nose, and move on.

Cat Noir hated this- every fiber of him wanted to attack the creature- but he knew that Nikolai was right. The only way to truly stop him was to play it smart.

Varujan smiled coolly as he continued his circling. ”So obedient, to do everything I asked of you. You are truly beautiful now.” He stopped in front of her, and took her face in his hands.

”Tonight, you are finally mine, my lady.” Varujan moved one hand down Ladybug’s neck to her shoulder, kissing her on the lips. ”And you will be only mine, forever.”

With that, he tilted Ladybug’s head back and to one side, slashing her neck with his long fingernail, and covering the quickly-dripping wound with his lips. Ladybug gasped, and began to breathe raggedly as Varujan pulled her closer.

Cat Noir knew he had to time this right; he counted ten seconds in his head, then leaped for the pair, extending the wooden spike on his staff to pierce the creature. But he must have made a sound; Varujan turned, releasing Ladybug, and dodged the attack. Ladybug crumpled to the ground, bleeding from the open wound.

Varujan hissed, and lunged for Cat Noir. The beast was  _ fast, _ he hit Cat Noir in the gut before he could get prepared for an attack, and knocked the superhero across the room and into a wall. The staff clattered where he had dropped it, a few feet away from Ladybug.

Before he could recover, Varujan was at him again, hitting Car Noir with blows that would have pulped him had he not been in his armor-like costume. He put up one arm to protect his face; the bloodsucker grabbed his forearm- and threw him away with a scream as the smell of burnt flesh filled the air.

Cat Noir slid across the floor and hit his head hard against a post; his head swam for a moment. He looked for his staff, but the monster was between him and Ladybug. He didn’t have time-

Varujan leapt for Cat Noir- and was tackled broadside by Nikolai. The two vampires began to fight in earnest, driving each other all over the building and turning it into a wrecking yard. Cat Noir could hear grunts and muttered insults coming from the two as they fought.

_ I may have to take him out without immobilizing him, _ Cat Noir thought. He called, ”Cataclysm!” and his right hand began to glow with black energy. He looked for an opening in the fight, but the two were moving too fast; he couldn’t be sure of not hitting Nikolai by accident.

Suddenly he heard a loud  _ crack _ , and Nikolai was on the ground, his left leg twisted at an odd angle. Varujan sneered, and turned back toward Cat Noir.

”You’re trying to save her, aren’t you? I could smell you on her shoulder...” Varujan stalked toward Cat Noir, who decided that going on the offensive might throw his opponent off. He threw himself at the monster, ducking under the swing and bringing his right hand up. But Varujan caught the arm in his left hand and grabbed Cat Noir around the throat with his right. He picked the superhero up by the neck and slammed him down onto the floor.

Cat Noir was pinned down; his power useless while his arm was held to the floor. He tried to pry the vampire’s hold off his neck with his free hand, while he twisted as much as he could, trying to get some leverage to throw Varujan off.

Varujan was burning his hand to crush the metal collar and choke Cat Noir, but he didn’t seem to care. He grinned, showing all his serrated teeth. ”You will die here; I will crush the life out of you. Then I will make my lady mine for all time...” His mad smile froze Cat Noir’s heart.

Varujan suddenly stiffened with a cry, a look of surprise on his face. Cat Noir shifted his eyes to the left, and saw Ladybug, smeared with her own blood. She had his staff in her hands, ramming the wooden spike into Varujan’s back with every bit of strength she had left.

”I...am  _ not... _ your lady!” she panted, as she drove the spike home.

She staggered and fell to the side, having expended all her energy. Cat Noir’s vision was fading from lack of air, but he managed to get one foot up into the frozen vampire’s gut, and lifted him far enough to free his right hand. As the world began to turn to gray, he slammed his hand into Varujan’s face, just as his miraculous emitted a final beep. He felt himself detransforming as his vision went black with dust, and then completely black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's hard to write a fight scene. Still not sure how this turned out; I must've gone over it a good twenty times, and I'm still not sure it's right.
> 
> (You know what they say about the number of people it takes to make a work of art- one to do the art, and one to hit the artist over the head with a hammer when it's obvious they have no idea when to quit...)
> 
> (Not that this is necessarily a work of art. But the principle applies...)
> 
> So- what do you think? Let me know in the comments! That (and kudos) are much appreciated.


	5. Why?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the battle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Most of) the characters belong to ZAG and Thomas Astruc.

Adrien awoke to Plagg’s insistent tapping on his face.

”Wake up, kid! Ladybug’s still bleeding; she needs you!”

That woke Adrien up completely. He sat up, coughed, tried to swallow, and managed it after a moment. Looking around, he saw Ladybug unconscious a few feet away, right where she had fallen; she was still bleeding sluggishly, and her face was a ghastly white.

Adrien ripped off his overshirt, shaking the black dust off, tearing off one of the sleeves and wadding the rest against the inch-long tear in Ladybug’s neck. He wrapped the ripped portion as best he could around her throat, trying to put enough pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding, without so much pressure that she would be strangled or her circulation completely cut off. He managed it, and laid Ladybug back down gently. ”Just keep breathing, Bugaboo,” he whispered in her ear, as much a prayer as a command.

Nikolai coughed from across the room. The friendly vampire looked pretty bad; his leg was clearly broken. ”Cat Noir... I need help...”

Adrien left Ladybug reluctantly. His own head was pounding, and he was sore all over, but he was still the only one able to walk right now. ”What can I do?” he asked harshly, and coughed; his throat was swollen from nearly being strangled.

”I need...a dose of blood...I can heal...in a few minutes...”

Adrien swallowed hard- or tried to. Was Nikolai asking for what he thought? And how could he refuse? ”Um, okay. What do I do?”

Nikolai seemed to know what Adrien was thinking, and chuckled grimly. ”You get my backpack... out of the corner...I brought what I need...but thanks for offering...”

Adrien looked around. Plagg called out to him, ”Over here!”

He followed the kwami’s voice and found the backpack, which he brought back to Nikolai. Looking inside, he found a thermos, packed with ice water and three wax-sealed vials of blood. He pulled out one labeled ’VACHE 100 mL’.

”That one will do...” Adrien handed the vial to Nikolai, who broke the wax seal and downed the contents in a few swallows. He shuddered. ”Not at its best cold...now, if you can help...with my leg...so it heals straight...”

Adrien took hold of the ankle, holding it steady and letting Nikolai move to straighten the leg. Nikolai grunted in pain when he was done, but was already breathing a bit easier.

”Okay, let me sit here and heal. Should only take about fifteen minutes,” Nikolai said. ”See what else is in the backpack?”

Adrien peered inside. There were a few small bottles of a sports drink, a few more of water, a small wheel of cheese, and energy bars. Nikolai told him, ”Leave me one of the energy bars and some water, and see how much of the sports drink you can get Ladybug to take; she needs the fluid and electrolytes. Have her take it slowly, though.” He laughed tiredly. ”I think you know who the cheese is for.”

Adrien held out the cheese for Plagg, and moved back to Ladybug. She was breathing shallowly, her fancy eye makeup and blue-black hair stark against the white of her skin.

He was able to coax her awake a little; though her eyelids fluttered, they never stayed open for long. She sipped the drink whenever he put the bottle to her lips.

Adrien was trying not to think about how badly this could have gone. ”Nikolai? You said you’d explain...why did that monster have to feed on Ladybug? Why didn’t we just attack?”

Nikolai grunted and shifted a bit. ”First, we needed him distracted. A vampire feeding on a victim isn’t paying attention to much else after a minute, thanks to the euphoric effect of human blood; that’s why they only feed when they feel safe. Second,” he chuckled, ”remember what I said about taking on aspects of your animals? Why are ladybugs red?”

Adrien couldn’t see where this was going. He shook his head- slowly; it still hurt a lot. ”I don’t know.”

”In insect body language, bright colors are a warning- the animal is poisonous. Ladybugs have mildly poisonous blood; and our Ladybug’s is magical in nature. That’s why ’to touch a ladybug is death’- in the old vampire legends, ’to touch’ means ’to feed on’. If Varujan had fed slowly as he had done before, the magic poison would’ve gotten into his system before we had to attack.”

”So it didn’t work...”

”Oh, it did- eventually. It clouded his mind enough that Ladybug was able to resist and break free of his mind-control. Otherwise, he would have had her attack you while he dealt with me.” Nikolai shrugged. ”If he had fed from the arm, she might have broken free and been able to stab him with the wooden hair sticks Master Fu put in her pocket. Or you might have been able to sneak up on him and get him that way. But things happened this way.  _ C’est la vie _ .”

Nikolai stood up and stretched. ”Time to go.”

Adrien looked up at him. ”Go where?”

”I can carry you both to the hospital; it’s not far. Cat Noir, you take Ladybug into the emergency room for help, and I’ll go back to Master Fu’s place.” Nikolai walked over to Adrien and Ladybug. ”You’ve both been out of touch for at least a day; what will you say when you’re asked where you were?”

Adrien shrugged, wincing. ”No one would believe the truth. We’ll just say we don’t remember. That’s believable for Ladybug, at least- she forgot when she was attacked before. Right?” Ladybug nodded slightly, eyes still closed. Adrien coughed and took a sip of water, trying to clear his throat.

Nikolai agreed. ”Probably your only option. Ladybug- wait to detransform until we get there; it might make you start bleeding again, and I want you as close to help as possible before that happens.” Adrien was a little shocked- he would see Ladybug’s face if they did that- but there really wasn’t another choice; Ladybug was too weak to walk into the hospital on her own, and Nikolai would have a hard time explaining how he’d found them since he was from out of town. Adrien himself wasn’t feeling that good, either; every muscle felt bruised, it was hard to breathe, his head hurt like crazy, and now he could feel a dull throbbing in his left ankle. He sighed, and let Nikolai carry him cradled like a child, holding Ladybug in his lap.

Nikolai carried them outside, and took to the roofs, arriving at the hospital within minutes. He set Adrien down near the entrance to the emergency room, and draped Ladybug’s arm over his shoulder. Ladybug was not quite awake, swaying a bit.

”Time to change, Ladybug,” he said.

Ladybug whispered, ”spots off,” and the pink energies revealed her true form.

Adrien drew in a breath in shock. It was Marinette.

The red-and-black kwami touched Marinette’s face gently, then hid in Nikolai’s backpack, where Plagg waited. Nikolai was going to take them back to Master Fu until Adrien and- Marinette?- were healed again.

Marinette moaned, and slumped; Adrien had to grab her waist to keep her upright. ”Get her right in there,” instructed Nikolai, before vanishing into the night.

Adrien hobbled Marinette through the glass doors and up to the admittance desk. The clerk on duty stared at him, astonished.

”Please,” he said hoarsely. ”Help us.”

The doctor on duty that night was a sarcastic comedian of a man, but he was efficient. He directed a nurse to ”bring the young lady two bottles of the house red,” as he examined the wound. Adrien listened from outside the alcove as the doctor cleaned the wound and stitched it shut, and gave cryptic instructions to the nurses and assistants. He could see Marinette’s face through the glass partition; she was out like a light, but even now had a little more color in her face as the transfusion was administered. An oxygen line led from a machine in the wall to Marinette’s nose.

Adrien leaned his forehead against the glass, suddenly tired, yet unwilling to leave. The doctor came out of the alcove, and turned to Adrien. ”And what’s wrong with you, then?” he asked, glancing at his tablet.

”I’m fine. Is she going to be okay?” Adrien just wanted to know.

”Oh, you’re fine, are you? Then what’s that on the back of your head- tomato sauce?” The doctor grabbed Adrien’s wrist and made him touch the back of his head; it was sticky and his fingers came away with a red stain. Then the doctor hooked a finger in the collar of his shirt and looked down his front with a flashlight. ”Looks like you’re next on the hit parade- and someone’s been hitting you pretty hard; you’re bruised from your neck down.”

The doctor sat Adrien down on a gurney in another alcove, flashed the light in his eyes, then had him take off his shirt. ”I’d like to get some x-rays of those bruises, in case your ribs are broken. We’ll get the swelling down so you can breathe and swallow easier, and treat you for that concussion.” He made Adrien lie down with a blanket over him, and started making notes on the tablet. ”Oh, and your girlfriend’s touch and go for now; she’ll go into intensive care tonight.”

”She’s just-” Adrien started to say, but now that he knew who Ladybug- Marinette- was, he couldn’t honestly call her ’just a friend’. ”It’s... complicated,” he finished lamely.

”Hmph. Well, ’Complicated’s lost a lot of blood; Dracula couldn’t get a quick snack off that girl.”

Adrien shuddered, but the doctor didn’t see. He left Adrien lying on the bed in his alcove, wanting to see Marinette, to whisper to her that everything would be okay. Wanting to believe that was true himself.

Two days later, Adrien was about to be discharged that afternoon, while Marinette had been moved from intensive care to a regular bed that morning. He was determined to see her; the hospital hadn’t let him visit her the entire time she was in the ICU ( _ stupid family-only rule, _ he thought), although Marinette’s parents had been good about giving him updates twice a day. If anyone tried to stop him this time, Adrien knew he could no longer be held responsible for his actions.

As he walked down the hall, he thought about Nikolai. Nikolai had stopped by the day before, saying goodbye before heading back to his farm and his wife and kids. (” _ What?” he’d laughed when Adrien looked startled. ”Just how do you think we vampires reproduce- reanimating our victims?” Adrien flushed, since he had thought exactly that. ”Not hardly- we get married and have kids like humans do. Our lifespan is just a century or so longer than yours, is all.”) _ Adrien hoped to see him again- though under better circumstances.

Peeking in the door, he saw that the bed was empty. Marinette was sitting alone in a chair by the window with her eyes closed, letting the golden sunlight fall over her.

He tapped the doorframe so as not to scare her. ”Marinette? May I come in?”

He scared her a little anyway; she jumped slightly and turned to face the door. ”A-Adrien? Uh...sure-come in?” She sounded tentative, as if uncertain about something.

Adrien got the other visitor’s chair from the corner, and pulled it to the window to sit next to her. Now that he was here, he wasn’t sure exactly what to say. ”So...you look a lot better. How are you doing?”

Marinette sighed deeply. ”I’m okay. Just tired of sleeping. Besides, the sunlight’s warm.” She stared out the window, her eyes not really looking at anything.

She sat quietly for a long time.  _ Maybe she’d rather be alone, _ Adrien thought. But just as he was about to make an excuse to leave, Marinette spoke again. ”I know who you are, Cat Noir.”

He was startled- she hadn’t seemed aware enough to look at him after the fight; he’d thought she didn’t know. Not that it bothered him, really...and now that he thought about it, his assumption was kind of stupid- who else would have been in the hospital at the same time with her?

Marinette smiled at him; for the first time since Adrien had seen her at Master Fu’s, it was a genuine, unshadowed smile. ”I saw you detransforming as Varujan turned to dust. But we both passed out right after that; I wasn’t sure of what I saw until Dad told me who had brought me in.” She lost her smile, and looked at him with that sober glance he saw in Ladybug so often. ”I wanted to thank you, for what you did. I know that destroying Varujan wasn’t easy for you.”

Adrien blinked. Actually, he’d thought he would have nightmares about it, but although he brooded on the need to kill during the day-it still haunted him- his sleep was mostly untroubled at night. Mostly, because if anything, he had had nightmares reliving the battle, and it all going wrong. ”I had to- for you, for those other girls- for anyone he might have hurt. But that doesn’t mean it was the best way.” He sighed. ”All I did- all I  _ can _ do- is destroy. That isn’t a solution to anything.”

”Actually, it is,” Marinette surprised him by saying. She looked past him, her eyes distant with memory. ”When I got free of Varujan’s mind-control and stabbed him- I wasn’t really free of him. I still had the memories of him making me feel his-pleasure, his desires, as if they were mine. I remember just feeling- filthy- inside, from the moment my memory came back. But then-” she breathed slowly for a second, ”after you used your power on him, it was like- like the connection he had to me was destroyed, too. I knew what he had made me feel, but I couldn’t remember what it was like to  _ feel  _ it.” A tear slipped down Marinette’s cheek. ”I- It felt like I was finally clean. To me, it was a miracle.”

Marinette put her hand in Adrien’s, squeezing it gently as she looked him in the eyes. ”I use my creative power to destroy, too- Hawkmoth’s plans, anyway. And you use your power to protect people. It isn’t our powers that are good or bad; it’s what we do with them.” Her smile now was brilliant. ”And you’re the kindest, most selfless person I’ve met. That’s why I love you.”

Adrien’s breath caught. Had he heard right? Tears filled his eyes, and one overflowed as he tried to figure out what to say. He finally blurted out, ”I love you, too, Marinette.”

It was enough. Marinette leaned over in her chair as Adrien did the same, and the kiss was warming him even more than the sunlight from the window. They broke apart, and Adrien put his arm around the girl he loved, the one he had fought for, and she slipped her arm around him. They sat that way for a long time, letting the sunlight banish the lingering shadows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, here we are at the end! (Or is it??!??)
> 
> Seriously, this came out of a need to show what Miraculous COULD have been made for. There was that picture in 'Origins' of a Butterfly hero fighting what looked like a kraken (at least I think so, it's been a while and my memory ain't what it could be). So, it would be interesting to come upon a threat that wasn't directly related to the miraculous.
> 
> And Cat needs to be the indispensible hero for once, dang it.
> 
> Please feel free to comment! I always appreciate feedback! (I may not sound like I do, but I do, really!)

**Author's Note:**

> (Brain, you and I are going to have a loooong chat about the stuff you insist that I write at absurd hours of the morning...)
> 
> This one was started sometime in July of last year; I can't think of an episode it ties to, so it can probably be read as a standalone. Also, a little AU (you'll see why, if you haven't already guessed- and there's a reason for it that I'll explain later.)
> 
> Please comment; I really enjoy hearing what you think!


End file.
